Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Should I move up? I have so much equity in my home. Should I buy and investment? Should I spec a home?

As a real estate agent, it isn’t everyday that you find yourself telling clients to stay put. Don’t sell. Don’t move. When someone calls me to find out how much their home is worth , or if they should consider moving up we run a lot of numbers. For the first time in 7 years when I run the numbers, about 60% of the time my advice to my clients is to stay put. You have 5 years left on the 15 year mortgage we got you. You would start over with record high prices and a 30 year mortgage. It makes more sense to remodel the floors, get new paint and enjoy living mortgage free in 5 years.

I had another client who wanted more land so we found an older home of similar size with more land. When we ran the numbers, the new home needed $100,000 in upgrades to compare to their current home, and their payment went up $2,000. Easier to stay put in the beautiful home with $2,000 extra dollars in their pocket every month.

Some of the homes we helped clients buy 4 years ago have gone up $250,000. I personally sold my home after owning it for only 2 years for $125,000 profit. The appreciation in the real estate market compared to incomes rising is not equal.

In the Utah market 80% of homes are under $487,000. This market will remain strong and even if there is a shift, it will be minimal. Our market above $500,000 may see some shifting over the next 5 years.

So what does this mean for me? I wouldn’t spec a $600,000 home right now. I would buy investment properties under $250,000. Buying investment properties is a great strategy as rents are high and you can still buy townhouse, duplexes, single family homes under $250,000.

If you do need to move, let’s run the numbers and make sure we are getting you into a good solid investment for the next 5 years of your life. And never ever feel pressured to buy now or you will miss out. The best time to buy or sell a home is when it is the RIGHT time for you.

If you have any questions about buying, selling, investing, or what to do with the real estate market right now…Email or Call me today! 385-204-1354